“I was doing my job. This thing…”
“Watch what you say,” she interrupted.
“This vampire, Alasdair, has been killing innocent people all over the states. I had to try and stop him.”
“Why didn’t you just trust me enough to say that, Grady? Now look at me. No more hamburgers… no more hamburgers?!” she turned and looked at Danny, who raised his shoulders. “And how am I going to explain this to my mother? You have put me in a world of shit here, Grady.”
“What about everyone else?”
“What about them? Tabitha was helping me get out of there, and what, you have something to say about Danny wanting me to be around tonight?”
“No, of course not.”
“You have a funny smell about you, and may have some trouble yourself,” she added then turned and walked back over to Danny.
“I’m taking meds, you can probably smell those,” he said, then turned and walked back into the hallway.
Tabitha walked over and knelt down by D`nae’s feet and began to cry. D`nae got down on the floor in front of her and took her in her arms. “We’re free now, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay.” Tabitha leaned back and pulled her matted hair to the side, exposing her neck and closing her eyes. Danny touched D`nae’s shoulder, and nodded once for her to proceed. “Thank you, Tabitha.” Then she gently sank her fangs in, taking just enough to calm her stomach. Tabitha reached up and touched her face attentively, then ran her fingers behind D`nae’s neck and pulled her back into her neck.
“Drink your fill,” she whispered, and D`nae reopened the wound.
Once D`nae finished, she held her hand against the bleeding points on Tabitha’s neck. “We really need to get you into the bathroom, hun. I love ya, but you have more dirt on you than my ivy,” D`nae smiled. She looked back at Danny who was looking at her like she had sprouted a second head. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Yer nae mad at me?” he asked, standing up on the other side of the bed.
“I don’t know how I feel about all of this yet, but no, I’m not mad at you,” she stood and walked around the bed.
“Seeing you here is wonderful. Everything about you is wonderful, all but that smell,” she wrinkled her nose. “Danny, what have you been in?”
“Ah be smellin like the deid, cause it be how Ah cum tae ye. Twus awful bein in another’s coffin.”
“You flew back over here in a coffin… with a dead person in it?”
“He wus auld, and fallin apart, right in me hands,” Danny smiled looking down at the palms of his hands.
“Why don’t you hit the shower first, then I’ll give you a hug,” she smiled stepping back.
“Surly tant that bad.”
“Yes, master, it is,” Tabitha whispered with her head down.
“He is not your master, no one is. Danny, this is my friend, Tabitha.”
“An ye knows aboot her?”
“You mean her being a werewolf?”
“That’s exactly…” he paused. “A fit?”
“That’s what her kind is called.”
“I’ll be knowin fit a werewolf be, Hen,” he replied stepping around and walking up to Tabitha. “Ne’re thought it wus real.”
“And I never believed in vampires, but look at us now,” D`nae retorted with a snicker.
“Ye be havin a point. Names Danny Gilmore,” he said holding his hand out to her.
“You would willingly touch me?”
“Noo, dinnae tell me yer worried aboot me. Ye won’t be seein my hand get aw out of wack.”
“Forgive me, but I had to make a point,” she replied taking his hand.
“An a guid ane ye made at that.”
Danny smiled back at D`nae who was now holding a bath towel out to him. He took it and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. D`nae started going through her clothes, looking for something better suited for Tabitha to wear for when she got out of the shower. She was certain that she had a few things that she was keeping, hoping to one day fit back into. She pulled out a pair of jeans and laid them on the bed. “Those should fit. You look like a size three or four. Like I was ever going to fit this ass in those,” she laughed looking in the top drawer of the dresser. She pulled out a pink tank top, then tossed it on the bed. She then opened the second drawer, and took out a lacy pair of hot pink panties.
“You wish me to put that on?” Tabitha asked looking around her shoulder, then quickly stepping back.
“Yeah, they’re sexy, and they won’t show lines through your pants.”
“Will that not go in between…?”
“Yep!” D`nae laughed. “It’s called a thong. Don’t look so worried, honey, I’ll help ya.”
She kept digging around until she had pink socks, a black belt, black tennis shoes, and a midsleeve black button-up top to wear over the tank. Tabitha asked why she thought she was in need of so many items, when she only wore one now. D`nae told her she had to experience shopping just once, then she would understand a little better. D`nae heard the shower and knew that Danny was still in there. She told Tabitha that she needed to talk to Grady and she wanted to do it before Danny was finished in the bathroom. Tabitha didn’t need to be told to stay in the room, she had gone by the rule of a heavy hand, and now carried a stone shell. Tender on the inside, breaking down at the first sign of kindness.
D`nae stepped out into the dark living room where Grady was sitting in the chair with his head leaned back. The door clicked closed and he snapped to attention. “It’s just me, D`nae.” Grady stood up so fast that the chair slid back. He was horrified and thankful all at the same time. She walked over to the couch and smelt her own tainted blood that had soaked through the day before. She bypassed it and sat down in one of the chairs at the small kitchen table. “Can we talk, Grady?”
“What’s left to say? You’re…”
“I know, but would you want me to be like Tabitha instead?”
“I don’t know, doesn’t matter, does it?”
“Because of Danny, huh?”
Grady just stood there looking at her in the dim glow of the light from the stove.
“Would you please just sit down and talk to me?”
He walked over and pulled the chair out, but stayed on his feet.
“I won’t try to bite you or anything,” she said crossing her legs, getting irritated. “So, would you just sit the hell down.”
“Yeah,” he replied sitting down. “And I’m not worried about you trying anything. It’s just a little hard being around you like this.”
“It’s a little fucked up for me too, Grady. None of this would have happened…” she paused.
“Say it. If I hadn’t left you alone, used you for bait. I know that I have your death on my hands, and it will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“My death. Do I look dead to you… really?” she demanded, standing up.
“What do you think happens when the sun comes up? Everything you’ve heard about what you are now wasn’t all made up bullshit. You turn cold and clammy, just like any other corpse.”
“That’ll be enough,” Danny said from the bedroom door with the towel around his waist.
D`nae turned around and lost her breath, along with it everything that Grady had just said. Looking at him all but nude brought back a rush of memories that almost took her to her knees. “Aw ye aright, luv?” Danny asked walking up to her, every muscle moving with his steps. His stomach tightened as he reached out and gently touched her arm. She wrapped hers around his bare flesh, running them up his back, breathing in his scent past the smell of the liquid shower soap. She rose up on her toes, nuzzled her face into his neck and whispered, “I need you.”
“Ye best be fer helpin yer frin, an ah’ll be needin sum claes.”
D`nae kissed the inside of his neck, and nodded, slowly walking around him, waiting to release her fingertips at the last possible moment. Danny closed his eyes as the chills of her touch rushed over his b
ody, then opened them to glare at the man that he had just heard insulting the woman he cherished more than anything.
“If’in ye e’er speak tae me luv, or takin tone in yer voice, Ah’ll kill ye right oot. Dae Ah make me self clear?”
“Perfectly!” Grady snapped, then got up and walked out of the apartment.
“Wee toty of a mon.” Then he walked over and sat down in the same chair that Grady had been in when D`nae had first came out.
One and a half hours later, D`nae had Tabitha spotless. She was combing out her hair, and watching her watch herself in the mirror. Her flesh was light almond, and her hair light brown, nearly past her hips. D`nae trimmed off the ends, then helped her get dressed, laughing as Tabitha kept pulling at the thong string wedged firmly between her cheeks.
“How is this a good thing?” Tabitha asked, sliding the jeans over her hips. D`nae burst out laughing, then assured her that she would get used to them in no time. Once she was dressed, D`nae opened the closet door, and moved Tabitha around so she could see herself in the full length mirror. The first thing that she did was look behind her.
“This is me?” she asked, placing her hands to her face, then sliding them down her sides.
“You are so beautiful, Tabitha. I had no idea.”
“I had forgotten. I can’t believe my own eyes.”
“Believe it, baby. You are one hot momma.”
“Excuse me? I have no children.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Like hottie, gorgeous, superfly! You have so much to learn.”
D`nae and Tabitha stepped out, then D`nae went back in and grabbed a pair of jeans, which lucky for Danny just happened to be male wranglers that she had bought simply because she liked the fit. When she came back out, Danny was standing up, and Tabitha was looking down at the ground. She walked over and handed him the jeans, then asked if he had told Tabitha how nice she looked. He took in a deep breath, then just shook his head.
“See, I told you girl, you’re a hottie,” she smiled. “When a man has nothing to say, it means he really likes it, huh, babe?”
“Yer sure she’s the same hen that win in wit ye?”
“She sure is. Where’d Grady go?”
“He got `emself aw het, an left. Dinnae fash yersel wi the likes o him.”
“He’s my friend, Danny. He’s also the only one that can help us stop Alasdair.”
“He’ll be the ane, isn’t he?”
“He is, and he won’t stop trying to kill you, until we stop him.”
“Cum, tak yer shower. Ah’ll try yer claes on.”
D`nae told Tabitha to fix herself something to eat, then she and Danny disappeared into the bedroom. He shut the door and grabbed her, pulling her around into a heated embrace of rushing hands and warm tongues. He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, never breaking the kiss. Her hands explored his thick damp hair while his blindly moved things off the bathroom sink. Bottles clanked on the floor as he heavily sat her down, causing her to moan in his mouth. He ripped her shirt off, throwing the two pieces in opposite directions. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her soft sweatpants were being pushed down as far as he could get them with one hand while the other rushed from one breast to the other.
“Shower… I need to shower first,” D`nae whispered, breaking the kiss.
Danny lifted her and took two steps to the bathtub, stepped in and lowered her to her feet. He reached back and turned on the water, soaking his back in a freezing downpour. “Mary, mither of Joseph!” Danny hissed. D’nae laughed as he quickly turned, bringing the water to a comfortable temperature. He gripped her hips and pushed her under the water, then slowly ran them up her sides, under her breasts, then into her hair, kissing the water as it ran down her neck. He lathered her hair as she closed her eyes and took in the feel of his hands as they worked not only the strands of her hair, but slid down her shoulders, grazing her breast attentively with each stroke. Her hands were replaced at her sides every time she raised them to touch him, or help wash herself.
He turned her around and moved his hands down her lower back, running his thumbs over the crack of her butt. She leaned forward and grabbed the wall, breathing hard with each movement of his hands. The way he spread her legs, moving his hand in her most private of areas, almost made her knees buckle. D`nae threw her head back, and pushed herself up against his readiness. He slid his warmth in between her legs, and then lifted her straight up with a slight pull under her ribcage, maneuvering his hands until he cupped each of her large breasts, then releasing them only to run his hands as far down as he could without breaking the contact they had with their lower bodies.
“Oh, Danny,” D`nae cried out as her body tighten around his.
“Ah luv ye,” he said, then joined in her ecstasy.
Danny’s hand rested on the wall in front of them while the other held her around the waist. She leaned her head back onto his chest, and smiled. “Things are certainly different, aren’t they?” Danny slid himself out of her warm embrace, then turned her around to face him. “Ye’ll be huvin nae idea, luv. But, Ah’ll be here fur ye.” He reached out and grabbed the towel that was hanging on the rack, then bent down and picked up the one that had fallen from his waist. She watched him move, getting excited all over again, having to turn her eyes to keep from causing herself to throw him down on the floor. Danny stepped out of the tub, then turned around to take her hand but she was still standing there with her eyes closed.
“Fit ye daing wi yer eyes closed?”
“Oh, sorry,” she jerked, opening them. “I was just a, well, we better hurry. We have to see what’s gonna to be going on.”
“Wi who, yer frin the dog?”
“Why would you say that?” she asked, wrapping the towel around her head.
“He’ll be wantin me hen. Ane dinnae need eyes tae see that.”
“You’re right, and I will never lie to you about anything, but he knows that I have only one thing filling up my heart and that’s you, baby,” she replied stepping up to him, nude, pressing her body up against his.
“Ah’ll nae be fur likin the mon. He wud hae me life if he cud.”
“He wouldn’t do that, Danny.”
“Nae, he wudn’t. He cud ne’re cum close tae matchin me.”
D`nae stepped back, then walked out into the bedroom.
“Oh, an Ah suppose it wud be the same if it wur meself an another hen?”
“No!” she snapped. “Why? Have you been with someone else?”
“Nae, Hen. Twus merely makin me point.”
“Fine, don’t like him. I don’t care, but you aren’t going to hurt him either. We need his help, whether you like it or not, Danny Gilmore,” she adamantly stated, pulling on her jeans.
“He’ll be nae more than a scunner.”
“A what? Now how the hell am I supposed to even know what that is?”
“Pain, ane who tis always footerin aboot!” he replied, getting angry.
“Okay, I get that, I guess. Aren’t we supposed to fight, then have sex, not the other way around?”
“Me thins we best be fur makin it right,” he said, taking the shirt out of her hand.
“Danny…”
“Shhhh…luv,” he whispered unzipping her pants.
Thirty minutes later, they were again starting to get dressed when Danny froze where he was standing. “What is it?” D`nae asked. Danny held his hand up, finished pulling on his pants, then walked to the door and listened. He could hear someone tapping on the outer door, but heard nothing in the way of movement from Tabitha.
“We best gae oot. They’ll be tappin at the door.”
D`nae hurried to get dressed, and she and Danny walked out to find Tabitha, standing guard outside their room.
“Have you been waiting here this whole time?”
“I have.”
“But why, sweetie?”
“To make sure you were not disturbed.”
“Could you hear anything?” D`nae asked, showing a f
aint red blush to her now pale skin.
“I could have heard if I were in there with the others. I cannot help it.”
“A’ dogs hae guid ears.”
“Danny!” D`nae yelled, turning to glare at him. “That was a horrible thing to say.”
“It’s true, mas... D`nae. I have every sense that your pet animal would have.”
“Yeah well, there’s other ways to go about saying things, too!” she said, glaring at Danny.
D`nae smiled at Tabitha about the time the tapping started up on the door again. She walked over with Danny on her heels, causing her to bump him with her elbow, making him grunt and start laughing. She opened the door to one of Grady’s men. He handed her a note, then took off like he was on fire. “Guess he didn’t like my new look,” she laughed, opening the note. “Oh my goodness.”
“Fit tis it?”
“Seems that our friend, Alasdair, has made his first move,” she replied then sat down on the clean end of the couch.
Dark Knight of the Skye Page 11